


Battle Plans & Thunderstorms

by Huntress8611



Series: An Odd Friendship [5]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Astraphobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Phobia, Phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9332471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress8611/pseuds/Huntress8611





	

Peter walked down a hall in Cair Paravel, thinking about how strangely Oreius had been acting today. He looked into the room where the centaurs were coming up with new defense mechanisms for Cair Paravel and saw Oreius. The centaur was tensed up, obviously looking for an excuse to leave, scanning for an easy exit. 

"Oreius, I need your help with something," said Peter, standing in the doorway.

They continued down the hall, and Oreius asked, "What's wrong, Peter?"

"Nothing. You looked like you really needed to get out of there. You've been acting strange all day," stated Peter, still concerned for his friend. 

"Thank you, Peter," said Oreius, sounding relieved. Peter opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but was cut off by a loud thunderclap. Looking at Oreius, Peter noticed how his friend's eyes widened and muscles tensed at the sound of the thunder. 

"Ah, that explains a lot," said Peter, "Come on, you're going to 'help me' with something in my room."

He walked to his room with the centaur close behind. He walked into his room, closing the door behind Oreius. Peter crossed his arms over his chest, staring pointedly at the centaur, who sighed and settled on the floor. 

Peter sat next to Oreius. "Is this why you've been acting off all day?" he asked.

Oreius looked startled, and replied, "No one has ever paid enough attention to notice before, but yes, this is why." He tensed up as another thunderclap echoed through the castle. Peter wrapped his arm around him, pulling Oreius into a hug. The centaur leaned up against his friend.

"Thanks again for getting me out of that meeting," said Oreius.

"Are you kidding me?" said Peter, baffled, "You seem to be forgetting how many times you've bailed me out of the medical wing." 

A huge thunderclap shook the castle, causing Oreius to flinch towards Peter, looking down and screwing his eyes shut, trying to stay in control of his breathing. Peter ran his fingers through Oreius' hair, trying to help him relax. 

At the next clap of thunder, the centaur let out a whimper, pressing up against Peter. The king tightened his grip. "Shhh, you're okay," whispered Peter. Then, a loud, long round of thunderclap shook the foundation of Cair Paravel, making Orieus let out a quiet whine, trying uselessly to get closer to Peter, who tightened his grip as much as he could. 

"Hey, you're okay. I'm here, it can't hurt you. I'm not leaving you. You're fine. I won't let it get you," whispered Peter, trying to calm him down. "Tell me why you don't like thunder," Peter suddenly said, trying to distract Oreius. 

"When I was 9, I got stuck out alone in the forest one day. I was lost, and it was pouring rain. The lightning kept hitting the ground, just barely a meter away from me. I haven't been able to stand storms ever since," said Oreius. 

"That's awful," said Peter. No longer distracted by telling the story, Oreius flinched at another thunderclap. "Hey, this is one of the four safest rooms in Cair Paravel. You're safe. I'm not going anywhere," said Peter, murmuring soft words of comfort into the centaur ear until the thunder and lightning stopped. 

When the storm ended, Peter loosened his hug, tightening it again when he felt Oreius tense up before burrowing into the hug. Though very few knew this, he was very tactile.

"You okay now?" asked Peter. Oreius nodded, content with sitting the way they were for a while. "I wish you would have told me, I could have gotten you out of stuff for today," said Peter with a sigh. 

"No Peter," said Oreius, sighing, "People would notice, and what happens when we're in the middle of a battle during a storm? I deal with it."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm still bailing you out sometimes, though!" said Peter, leaving no room for negotiation.

"I didn't expect anything else, Peter," Oreius said, chuckling. 

"Good. I didn't want to have to fight you about it," said Peter, reading his chin on the centaur's head.

"Thanks."

"Anytime," said Peter.


End file.
